VIII - Mexican Machinations
VIII - Mexican Machinations
Not all was quite during the Confederate War of Independence, and the Foreign office was busy. First was the purchase of Lagos for the paltry sum of £5,000, giving the Empire direct rule over the area this was a plesant piece of bussiness, but what was happening is British Honduras was not. The Maya peoples were almost an independent state within the Mexican government, they had for years been a constant thorn in the side of successive Mexican leaders, and from time to time drifted over the border into British territory raiding[1]. The activity of these tribes was increasing gaining the attention of London, and when in the closing months of 1862 one group lead by Marcos Canul, attacked a mahogany camp and demanded a ransom from their prisoners, the newly installed foreign minister Disraeli had a problem. As the veteran minister investigated the reports he saw that the Mayans were getting equally bolder and better armed[2], he smelt a rat and sent agents to the obvious candidates of Guatemala and Mexico to see what could be uncovered. When rumours of a weapons cash, just beyond the border in Yucatan, came to the fore the foreign minister allowed a small force of British soldiers to 'get lost' in Mexico to try and locate it. The tiny force of only around 300, quickly found what they were looking for, but were immediately fired upon by Mexican regular soldiers.
When the story came to the fore, Disraeli sent a formal note of apology to the Mexico City, but was astounded to find that diplomatic channels had been closed. The Mexican's had been planning the operation for some time, as the British found to their cost.[3] A large force of Mexican regulars flowed over the border and proclaimed Mexican sovereignty over the new state of Belize. President Juárez was hopeing to cement his control over the country by distracting the conservative elements of his opposition with a quick and short victory. He and his generals chose Britain and Belize for two reasons, it could be quickly be taken, and Juárez figured that without a base of operations and with the British Army still being rebuilt London would not be in a position to do much and just accept the fait a compli, he could not have been more incorrect.[4]
It was in the early months of 1862 that Edward Cardwell, a protege of Gladstone, published his grand set of reforms that would sweep away Wellingtonian policy for ever. The work was truly stunning and set the tone of the British army for a century or more, the main crux of the reforms came to rest upon the quality of troops and officers and a restructuring of the regiments of the army.
The first portion was dealt with by;
* The abolition of flogging and other harsh punishments, during peacetime (and later in war time as well) - to attract good quality recruits
* The reduction of service terms from 21 years to 6, after which the soldier could re-enlist for another 6 years, or join the reserves on reduced pay for the 6 years - creating a highly trained reserve
* The sale of commissions was abolished with merit being the primary factor in promotion & the establishment of officer training corps in public schools and universities - to create and maintain a large and well trained officer corps.
The structure was laid out thus;
* The Creation of 25 regionally based regiments, based upon county boundaries and population densities consisting of;
* Four Battalions, two line (serving regulars) and two Yeoman (The Yeomanry now being the name for the reserve), save in the Guards Regiments of three line and one Yeoman.
In effect this meant that a force of some 137,500 men made up the line battalions while a trained reserve of 112,500 was available at short notice to be deployed as Horse Guards saw fit from the middle of the 1870's. This also meant that at the time of the the Mexican action a newly formed army of around 120,000 linesmen and reserves was ready along with the impressive new armoured fleet at Portsmouth.
The 'New Model Army'[5] as it was quickly coined during the Mexican war, was soon found to be formidable and different to its forbears who had been slaughtered in the Crimea and Washington. Much of this was circumstantial however, it was just as much due to the massive increase in the use of artillery, better leadership and the dearth in quality of the Mexican army, which never matched up to what the British had faced in Union and Russian armies, than to any new reforms. Californian, Texan and Confederate forces fell upon the almost unguarded Mexican north and Texas quickly anexed Sonora, Revilla, San Fernando and Caliente to its borders while General Wolseley and his British regulars made a lightening advance up from liberating Belize and the peninsular and driving on straight to Mexico City.
When the Mexican government capitulated to the Empire, the Liberal-Conservative administration had the option to impose an imperial regime or pull out of the country and leave the situation to the anarchy which it had become. There was no option really and over the next decades Britain would have to spend increasing amounts of time and money on building the Dominion of Mexico.[6]
[1] This very much happened in OTL
[2] This did not, but I used the event to declare war... so I needed to make something up...
[3] Those Mexican cavalry really can move fast
[4] Oh yes... 25 new infantry divisions, all with attached artillery, just happened to complete very shortly after going to war
[5] Sorry I couldn't resist....
[6] Yes that's right, I have now satellited California, Texas, Mexico, humbled the US and have the CS eating out of my hand
VIII - Mexican Machinations
Not all was quite during the Confederate War of Independence, and the Foreign office was busy. First was the purchase of Lagos for the paltry sum of £5,000, giving the Empire direct rule over the area this was a plesant piece of bussiness, but what was happening is British Honduras was not. The Maya peoples were almost an independent state within the Mexican government, they had for years been a constant thorn in the side of successive Mexican leaders, and from time to time drifted over the border into British territory raiding[1]. The activity of these tribes was increasing gaining the attention of London, and when in the closing months of 1862 one group lead by Marcos Canul, attacked a mahogany camp and demanded a ransom from their prisoners, the newly installed foreign minister Disraeli had a problem. As the veteran minister investigated the reports he saw that the Mayans were getting equally bolder and better armed[2], he smelt a rat and sent agents to the obvious candidates of Guatemala and Mexico to see what could be uncovered. When rumours of a weapons cash, just beyond the border in Yucatan, came to the fore the foreign minister allowed a small force of British soldiers to 'get lost' in Mexico to try and locate it. The tiny force of only around 300, quickly found what they were looking for, but were immediately fired upon by Mexican regular soldiers.
When the story came to the fore, Disraeli sent a formal note of apology to the Mexico City, but was astounded to find that diplomatic channels had been closed. The Mexican's had been planning the operation for some time, as the British found to their cost.[3] A large force of Mexican regulars flowed over the border and proclaimed Mexican sovereignty over the new state of Belize. President Juárez was hopeing to cement his control over the country by distracting the conservative elements of his opposition with a quick and short victory. He and his generals chose Britain and Belize for two reasons, it could be quickly be taken, and Juárez figured that without a base of operations and with the British Army still being rebuilt London would not be in a position to do much and just accept the fait a compli, he could not have been more incorrect.[4]
It was in the early months of 1862 that Edward Cardwell, a protege of Gladstone, published his grand set of reforms that would sweep away Wellingtonian policy for ever. The work was truly stunning and set the tone of the British army for a century or more, the main crux of the reforms came to rest upon the quality of troops and officers and a restructuring of the regiments of the army.
The first portion was dealt with by;
* The abolition of flogging and other harsh punishments, during peacetime (and later in war time as well) - to attract good quality recruits
* The reduction of service terms from 21 years to 6, after which the soldier could re-enlist for another 6 years, or join the reserves on reduced pay for the 6 years - creating a highly trained reserve
* The sale of commissions was abolished with merit being the primary factor in promotion & the establishment of officer training corps in public schools and universities - to create and maintain a large and well trained officer corps.
The structure was laid out thus;
* The Creation of 25 regionally based regiments, based upon county boundaries and population densities consisting of;
* Four Battalions, two line (serving regulars) and two Yeoman (The Yeomanry now being the name for the reserve), save in the Guards Regiments of three line and one Yeoman.
In effect this meant that a force of some 137,500 men made up the line battalions while a trained reserve of 112,500 was available at short notice to be deployed as Horse Guards saw fit from the middle of the 1870's. This also meant that at the time of the the Mexican action a newly formed army of around 120,000 linesmen and reserves was ready along with the impressive new armoured fleet at Portsmouth.
The 'New Model Army'[5] as it was quickly coined during the Mexican war, was soon found to be formidable and different to its forbears who had been slaughtered in the Crimea and Washington. Much of this was circumstantial however, it was just as much due to the massive increase in the use of artillery, better leadership and the dearth in quality of the Mexican army, which never matched up to what the British had faced in Union and Russian armies, than to any new reforms. Californian, Texan and Confederate forces fell upon the almost unguarded Mexican north and Texas quickly anexed Sonora, Revilla, San Fernando and Caliente to its borders while General Wolseley and his British regulars made a lightening advance up from liberating Belize and the peninsular and driving on straight to Mexico City.
When the Mexican government capitulated to the Empire, the Liberal-Conservative administration had the option to impose an imperial regime or pull out of the country and leave the situation to the anarchy which it had become. There was no option really and over the next decades Britain would have to spend increasing amounts of time and money on building the Dominion of Mexico.[6]
[1] This very much happened in OTL
[2] This did not, but I used the event to declare war... so I needed to make something up...
[3] Those Mexican cavalry really can move fast
[4] Oh yes... 25 new infantry divisions, all with attached artillery, just happened to complete very shortly after going to war
[5] Sorry I couldn't resist....
[6] Yes that's right, I have now satellited California, Texas, Mexico, humbled the US and have the CS eating out of my hand
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